Could you be
by Noder
Summary: "Tonks…" the name came out broken, but she was too determined to stop now "Do you think you coud… could you be… him… for a minute?" / if you like a good mistery, jump right in! slightly AU, M for later chapters, set during fifth year's christmas holiday
1. Leap of faith

Hermione was numb. Her head was buzzing with a million thoughts and nothing at all. She dragged herself up to the bathroom at Grimmauld place, and collapsed against the side of the gigantic tub. Not even bothering to pick herself up she closed her eyes and just lay there, unable to move. At some point she waved her wand to open the faucet and fill the bat, but she found it extremely hard to stay awake.

It was hard to piece together the happenings of the last 24 hours. It all happened so fast, yet so agonizingly slow. The struggle of the past years that lead up to the previous day seemed to stretch into the length of a lifetime, banishing every memory of a normal, carefree existence from her mind. Thoughts were jumbled in her head, she couldn't pick one coherent enough to word if she tried.

They had won.

But at what cost?

She almost felt guilty for being relieved that it's all over, when so many of her friends, and people close to her, were dead.

Ron was dead. Fred. Mr. Weasley. Fleur. Luna. Remus and Tonks, and most of all, after countless others, Harry.

She felt the disgust grow in her stomach when she thought Harry deserved this peace. It was a pity he wouldn't live to see the peace he brought for others, but finally it was all over for him. She thought, after all, if he had survived, he would not be able to lead a normal life, he, who only lived in neglect and abuse, who was raised to be slaughtered, as it turns out. She couldn't believe Dumbledore could do this to an innocent child. A young man.

After the final moment, when Voldemort perished to dust at last, the faintest smile could be seen on his face, and then he collapsed, never to get up again. It took everything out of him, to defeat the shadow that hung over the heads of all the wizarding world.

Her thoughts wandered back to Ron, how the love that was building between the two of them finally blossomed, only to be brutally crushed by a curse of some petty death eater. She squeezed her eyes shut as Ron's lifeless face swam into her thoughts. She wept then, unnatural, guttural sounds breaking free from her, tears streaming down her face. But she had to stand up. She had to continue fighting.

Now, she was all out of tears.

In the back of her mind, she registered a pop, and a baby crying downstairs. Her heart gave a painful twist for Teddy, but she was too exhausted to go and comfort the child. After a while, someone's voice could be heard. A female voice, cracked, barely there. Hermione figured it must be Molly. They must have come back for the child, to take him in. But something was off. There were no other voices.

The baby stopped crying, and after a "Homenum Revelio" the other voice fell silent. There were two pops, much like apparition, and then the startling sound of the stairs creaking.

Hermione didn't want to be found. She couldn't face the mother of her one true love, now dead, Merlin knows where to be found. She should have stayed by his side, she thought, but it's too late now. The steps kept on creeping closer, sounding somewhat hesitant, before stopping just outside the door. It was slightly ajar. A thought ran through Hermione's mind. What if it wasn't Molly? The wards are no longer in place, after all. What if someone tracked her down and came to kill her off? After a moment, a foot came into view, clad in a muddy old boot, torn jeans, and as Hermione took in the figure, there was a tattered cloak, and a faded Twisted Sisters T-shirt, a heart shaped face, and mousy brown hair, but not long now, barely two inches, soaked by rain.

It dawned all too quickly to Hermione, that the woman standing before her was no other than Tonks. Tonks, who's supposed to be dead, along with her husband. Her body somehow mustered the courage to move, but overcalculated, as she went jumping backwards, somehow ending up crumpled inside the tub, banging her head against the back wall with a loud thud. Her breath became erratic, and her eyes darted all across the other woman, searching for signs of a trick.

There seemed to be none, as Tonks stood, looking questioningly at Hermione.

The younger girl slowly found her voice, saying not quite what she meant to.

"You're supposed to be dead."

Tonks's hair flashed the faintest green and there seemed to be a sort of chuckle caught in her throat as she sunk back into a numb state similar to Hermione's previous one.

She took slow, unsure steps towards the tub, and sank into it, sitting next to Hermione.

The younger girl just looked at her, not believing her eyes. Tonks always intrigued her. One could even say she had a confusing, childish crush on the woman with fluid looks. Now that she seemingly returned from the dead, Hermione was full of questions, but unlike any other time when these would pour out of her all at once, jumbled, she could only stare, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. She figured she'd better say something, sooner or later. That would be a very human thing to do. That would seem almost normal. When she said nothing, Tonks spoke up.

"Why did you think I was dead?"

After a beat or two, Hermione slowly opened her mouth again to speak.

"You were nowhere to be found, and, and, there wasn't a body, and… we looked for you, we really did… but…"

Tonks frowned and looked away.

"I was buried under a pile of rubble up till an hour ago. Frankly, I thought I'd die there, I lost my wand…"

She trailed off, but seeing Hermione's questioning look, she gathered up the strength to speak.

"A house elf somehow found me. After all this, you know, I'm giving that SPEW thing of yours some serious thought…" she tried to joke, but the smile didn't even reach her lips, the attempt hanging dead in the air.

After she saw Hermione was unable to speak, she continued, dreading the silence.

"I went to see my parents, and… and Teddy, but I… I couldn't bear being there and… and then I thought, I… but nobody was here, I mean, I saw the… in the Great Hall I saw…"

They continued to stare ahead, and after what seemed like forever, Hermione spoke.

"Why aren't you with him? Teddy I mean…"

Tonks' face fell in shame as she spoke, barely a whisper.

"I… he… reminds me too much of Remus and… and I… after I found out someone was here, I… took him back to my parents, and, and… I'm an auror… I thought… the wards failed and I thought it must be a… "

"But Tonks, didn't you say you lost your wand?"

Tonks gave a look to Hermione, one that said oh, I know, I came here to die recklessly at the hands of some scrawny death eater because I really can't carry on, but all that came out was a weak "Yeah."

Hermione couldn't blame Tonks, for the same thoughts ran through her mind not long ago. She moved, hesitantly, placing her arms over the woman, barely there. Tonks suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a tight, bone crushing embrace as she sobbed silently, without tears. Hermione hugged back. She listened to the older woman's heart breaking heaves as she battled for breath in the rush of emotion that overcame her. Soon she gave in too, tears silently falling from the corners of her eyes at first, then her body started to shake violently with the supressed wailing within her. Tonks absently started to rock them back and forth, but the usually calming notion only set pace to their silent crying, not seeming to end at the given moment.

After a while, Hermione tensed, a little something clicking into place in her head. A sick, desperate thought, almost too horrible to utter; but reality was too far gone for her to stop herself. She felt bile creeping up her throat as she embraced the idea, frozen in place, an unnatural shine in her eyes.

Tonks must have noticed her sudden change of behaviour, for she leaned back from her and looked her in the eyes, but stayed silent.

Hermione stared at her like a deer caught in headlights. Her mouth was twitching nervously, half open, her stomach in a painful knot and a lump in her throat. She started speaking.

"Tonks…" the name came out broken, but she was too determined to stop now "Do you think you coud… could you be… him… for a minute?"

-o-o-o-

A/N: This story will build on cliffhangers, so expect chapters to end like this in the future! I'll see you tomorrow with the next one. Reviews are very welcome!


	2. What now

"Tonks…" the name came out broken, but she was too determined to stop now "Do you think you could… could you be… him… for a minute?" she managed to blurt out, and averted her gaze, pulling back, almost anticipating the crack of a slap across her face, but as she kept staring to the side, wondering how she could live with herself, look at the other woman before her ever again after this, nothing came. She dared not to move, to speak, she even held her breath, as she felt Tonks slump against the side of the tub.

At any other given time, she would have been repulsed by the question, the idea, and she'd be gone in an instant, but not before hexing the younger witch. But now, she was too tired to move, to argue, to resist. The request almost seemed reasonable, she just didn't believe she could, not now, when she felt so empty, so numb.

She didn't even believe herself when she tried.

First, she managed to produce the red hair and freckles, but her morphs quickly failed on her. She wanted them to stick so badly, all of the sudden realising she could ease the pain of her friend, providing a much needed goodbye, a little comfort, even if only for a little while.

After long minutes of trying, all the while stealing glances at Hermione, who seemed to be frozen in a mortified stupor at her own words, she was positive she succeeded.

She felt a little out of place in the lanky body, but reached for Hermione's chin, and pulled it up gently to meet her eyes. The bushy haired witch broke down in violent sobs, not even hearing when Tonks rushed out her warning that the look would probably not stick for too long.

Hermione grabbed Tonks' shirt, and buried her face into it against a chest very similar to Ron's. She kept on clinging to the mirage for dear life, seemingly lost, looking up into the face of her passed away love.

When she gathered herself somewhat, she came up to look at Tonks' morphed face, shaking, unsure hands coming to caress the red stubble across her chin, all too grotesque to think about it, so she didn't. She kept on staring, mesmerized, chanting the boy's name almost silently, staring past Tonks, who didn't dare move a muscle. She became even more petrified when Hermione leaned in very close, touching their foreheads together, looking the witch in the eyes.

Tonks could detect a spark of insanity in Hermione's eyes as her fingers curled up, tense against her face. Her muscles seemed to twitch, but the metamorph didn't have any time to decipher what for, as the action came only a split second later.

Hermione kissed her. The brunette kissed her and didn't stop, obviously caught up in the moment, only budging when she noticed Tonks' body reverting to its original state. They both froze mid movement, their lips still slightly touching.

"Hermione" Tonks called against the other's lips

The girl didn't respond, staying very still; the breath caught in her throat, staring at Tonks, a mortified look in her eyes.

"Hermione" she said again, now pulling back a little, almost afraid of what will happen

Hermione broke down crying again. Falling on Tonk's chest, hiding her face in the already soaked Twisted Sisters shirt, she mumbled something incoherent that the woman could only make out as alternating sentences; „Why" „I didn't mean to" and „I can't do this"

This seemed to go on for a long while. Hermione sobbing against Tonks' chest, Tonks mostly frozen in place, save for her hand stroking the girl's bushy hair for some comfort. Hermione's grip didn't seem to loosen, it only shifted to embrace the neck of the older witch, as she continued to cry into her shoulder. Ever so slowly, after what seemed like forever, the girl lifted herself to look Tonks in the eyes.

"Are you all right?" Tonks asked, wanting to put Hermione out of her misery

Hermione only shook her head as tears continued to roll down her face. She looked away again. She couldn't look at Tonks, not now, not after how she so recklessly lunged at her. She couldn't wrap her head around why Tonks was still there, why she didn't say anything. Why was the woman concerned about her wellbeing after she's been so selfish, not caring about the trouble she'd cause? She couldn't help it, she wanted to run from the reality of recent events.

"I feel so empty, Tonks… I don't feel alive." she whispered, her voice rough

They locked gazes again, Hermione's eyes pleading something unspoken, the thought not even formed in her mind. Tonks couldn't help but relate. She wanted to escape from this nightmare. She wanted to feel again. She didn't want to sink into a nothingness much like after Sirius' death, only this time around, it threatened to be much worse. The father of her child, her husband, was murdered. It wasn't an easy love they shared, Remus only just recently came around again, seemingly at peace with finally having a family. He left multiple times during her pregnancy; she constantly feared being left behind. She considered not keeping the baby. She considered every possible outcome. Now that finally everything came together, it was ripped from her, and she would have to continue alone, with a little baby boy who would never know of the struggles of the previous world order.

Hermione's voice ripped her from her thoughts. She barely caught the shy whisper, the end of a typical Hermione rant, as she wondered how long she's been lost in thought.

"… and I might as well go to hell for this but I just want to feel alive."

The girl looked Tonks in the eyes again, but there was something different about her. The air buzzed with nervous magic seeping out from her, and in her eyes was something that couldn't be placed. She looked determined, insane even, and there was a certain amount of want, maybe. Her voice didn't shake as she spoke this time.

"Make me feel alive, Tonks, please?"

As the girl leaned closer, waiting, Tonks didn't need to ask what she wanted. Only she wasn't so sure what to make of the situation. She was almost inclined to proceed, for she realised Hermione now had no one. She knew how far the girl went to protect her relatives. There was a good chance she'd never find them, and if that, she barely had any chance of recovering their memories after all this time. Tonks tried to put herself in her shoes. Having to obliviate her parents. Having to make them move like puppets, away from her. It left her weak, shuddering. The rest she didn't have to try hard to imagine. She, too had lost her partner, and several friends in the war. Hermione must be really broken, she realised. If morphing into her dead boyfriend would make her feel at ease, Tonks would proceed at any expense. It'd make her forget her own personal hell for the time being, for sure. They'd just have to make sure it wouldn't grow into a habit. She didn't like pretending to be a certain person on request.

As she made up her mind, she gave a small nod and scrunched up her face in concentration, only to be interrupted by shaking fingers on her lips, and a small voice.

"No, I… I don't want that, I…" Hermione started, and when she saw Tonks stop trying to morph, she waited for her to open her eyes and looked deep into them as she finished. "I… want you to be you."

-o-o-o-

A/N: There you have it, chapter 2. What could come from this cliffy? You'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out! Reviews are welcome!


	3. Rude awakening

"No, I… I don't want that, I…" Hermione started, and when she saw Tonks stop trying to morph, she waited for her to open her eyes and looked deep into them as she finished. "I… want you to be you."

"What?" Tonks blurted out before she could stop herself. This didn't make any sense. Why would she want anything like that from her? Hermione flinched at the tone but didn't look away. Tonks figured she must be making a thoroughly confused face, because the other witch continued in her small, broken voice, her fingers never leaving the metamorph's mouth.

"After all the change in everything recently, I figured we could use something that's… constant… and I… I'm sorry I… forget it. Who do I think I – "

Hermione couldn't properly finish her sentence as Tonks enveloped her in another bone crushing hug, holding her face against her chest with one of her arms, as she nested her own in the brunette's hair. They stayed like that for a bit, neither daring to move.

Hermione was sure this was beyond crazy, that under any other circumstance, she wouldn't want to do this, but right here, right now, it seemed rational. It reminded her of their visit to Gringotts. She hated flying, but jumping on a wild dragon's back and urging it on with stinging hexes to escape the goblins seemed like the only solution back then. It was mental, but it worked. In comparison, this act seemed so small. She found she body shaking, but this time with chuckles.

As Tonks heard the noise, unsure at first but quickly becoming quite confident, she looked at Hermione in puzzlement. The girl managed to explain between laughs, looking like she had truly lost it. Tonks saw her point and smiled. She, too, was reminded of a past event in their short embrace. She'd argue with herself that Hermione was too young for this, but vividly remembered of her own words for Lupin in the same situation. Age is but a number. She couldn't help but laugh along with the other girl, but as they looked into each other's eyes, their faces stilled. Hermione glanced sideways and cleared her throat.

"You know, I… used to have this very confusing crush on you, back in fifth year…" she smiled sheepishly

Tonks looked at the girl, and tilted her head to the side, seemingly thinking hard about something.

"Give me your wand" She said, slowly extending a hand for it.

Hermione fished the wand out of a hidden pocket in her robes, and looked at it for a second before she handed it over. Tonks took it, very carefully holding the piece of wood between her fingers. She turned it around a couple of times before giving it a careless flick, rendering the room into complete darkness. The door closed with a click of the lock. Hermione heard Tonks lean over the edge of the tub as she placed the wand on the floor.

"Come here" she said, and Hermione followed her voice, and leaned closer until her face hit something that turned out to be Tonks' hand. The woman cupped her face in her hands, and pulled her close. Hermione could feel the warmth of her skin against her own, and as Tonks spoke again, she could smell her breath. It was sour, and dry, like the breath of someone stressful, someone who was too caught up in life to stop and care about their body – to eat, or drink, or sleep. Someone at war. Washing teeth? No matter that she was a daughter of dentists, she couldn't care less about oral hygiene right now. The words came out rushed.

"Listen here and listen good, because I'm afraid I can only say this once. Now it's just you and me. Whatever happens right now, in this room, whatever we say, or do, it stays here. I know you lost everything and I won't even begin to hope I can fill the void, but if this eases your pain just a little bit, I'm more than glad to run with you, because I want to run, because I have a newborn child downstairs and I don't know how to deal with this, I don't want to deal with this, frankly, I'd rather just lay down and die because – "

She was cut short by Hermione's lips on hers, anxious, hurried, short kisses in quick succession. She struggled to continue for a while, but soon found herself kissing back roughly; forcefully pulling the younger witch against herself, craving the closeness of another body.

When she started to snake her hands under Hermione's clothes, the girl tensed up, and it occurred to Tonks that she might not have gone further than this previously. She tentatively removed her hands and listened to Hermione's quick, shallow breathing.

"It is what you wanted, right?"

"Right."

"Listen if you'd rather not…"

"It's not that, it's just… I always figured my first would be…"

"It should be someone you trust" Tonks cut in, not letting Hermione remind herself of Ron "Do you trust me?"

There was a short pause, then Tonks felt the girl's hand searching for her own. She entwined their fingers and pushed Hermione to lie on her back. After kissing the back of her hand she let it go, and climbed on top of her, hovering over her body, not touching anything.

"You must say, Hermione." She urged, her face mere inches from the other's

"I do." she said quietly, but her voice confident

"Do you want to keep talking till we can?" Tonks cooed, hovering her lips above Hermione's exposed collarbone. She felt the girl turn her head.

"What do you mean till we can?"

Tonks' chest rumbled with a low laugh, and she said "You'll see" before she kissed Hermione's neck behind her ear. She felt the girl relax and exhale. She moved along her neck with small kisses, and the brunette's fingers found their way into her hair.

"Is this your… did you… in the past… I mean" Hermione started, and Tonks silently wished she would shut up, but this was about her now, this was all for her help, so Tonks took a wild guess.

"I've been with women, if that's what this is about" she dropped nonchalantly and felt Hermione start. She quickly thought about it, and figured she could use this to her advantage right now. She continued speaking in a low, husky tone as she started to explore Hermione's body. "I especially like how they melt in my arms" She said, unbuttoning her shirt, kissing her stomach and holding her close. She felt the girl relax a bit, taking deeper breaths. "The noises they make when I touch them and kiss them" she continued on, lightly touching Hermione's breath, and heard the telltale noise of a quickly drawn in breath, as she squeezed. She didn't stop to think what she was doing. She was way past the point of no return, and if she knew one thing, it was that Hermione sure as hell felt alive right now. It was as if a switch were flipped inside her.

The girl encircled her waist with her legs as Tonks' hand caressed lower and lower, and they kissed. This time, it was intimate and careful. The metamorph slowly snaked her hand between Hermione's legs, and started massaging her there, first through her clothes, but as the younger witch started bucking her hips against her, she moved underneath the belt of her jeans, unbuttoning it in the process, and moved her fingers between her wet folds.

A jolt of electricity shot through Hermione as Tonks rubbed a thumb against her clit.

Her body jerked, and she sat upright. Her eyes were quickly squeezed shut, as suddenly there was sharp light everywhere. She found herself somehow on the floor. She heard someone speaking, but it took her some time to decipher the words, the voice.

"Hermione, wake up!"

-o-o-o-

A/N: So that concludes chapter 3. Did I just do that? Yes I did, but stick around for the conclusion. That's right, chapter four will be the last chapter of this beauty. I'm toying with the idea of a sequel, tho. Tell me what you think!


	4. Roger that

"Hermione, wake up!" It still sounded like Tonks, but younger. What was going on?

She searched the floor for her wand, eyes still shut, but she only found water, a few inches deep.

"What in the name of…" she blurted out, and finally opened her eyes. It really was Tonks, but instead of her battle worn attire, she was wearing clean clothes, and she sported her usual bubblegum pink hair.

Hermione panicked. She looked at herself, and then Tonks, and then the tub, the water pouring over the edge and coming down around her. Tonks was kneeling in the water above her, her hands close to her upper arms. She was probably trying to shake her awake. She vaguely remembered coming up here to take a bath. They both took a few deep breaths, looking at each other, then Tonks spoke.

"Is everything all right?

"What?"

"You were… I heard someone making noises up here and saw all the water and you were moaning and rolling around and oh my god I thought someone possessed you, you wouldn't wake up and you kept crying for me. You scared me shitless Hermione." she rushed the words out

Hermione blushed a deep crimson, but gathered herself quickly. Despite her mayor confusion, she found it rather entertaining that Tonks couldn't recognise a wet dream, quite literally, as they were sitting in water. She burst out laughing at the joke she made, which puzzled the other witch even more.

"What's so funny?" she demanded "Bloody hell woman would you tell me what happened to you?"

Hermione kept on laughing, as she fully woke up, and realised the true joke of the situation. She was in her fifth year. The silly crush that she was talking about in her dream, was a reality right now. She looked at the metamorph. Deciding to go against all her beliefs and trust informations in a dream, she decided to play a trick on Tonks. Quite boldly, she stated.

"It's just that, I was having a wet dream, in the most literal way, and you… you thought I was… po – possessed!" she managed to say between fits of laughter, and watched as Tonks's face reddened.

"But then why would you keep saying my… oh… Oh!"

Now was Tonk's turn to blush, and she suddenly found a chipped tile on the wall extremely interesting.

"Tonks, are you… gay?" Hermione asked a little too loud, and Tonks' hand flew to her mouth to cover it, but in her clumsiness, she knocked them over. She stared at the brunette in disbelief, blush still apparent.

"I thought I was hiding it well, always hanging around Remus and all. Bloody lucky he doesn't seem to like me at all." she whispered, disappointed.

"Oh, you are hiding it well" Hermione started, mirth in her voice "But it takes one to know one, you know" she stated with an awkward wink, overly bold.

Tonks burst out laughing and pulled them up against the tub. Their clothes clinged to their skin from the water. "So tell me about this dream, was I any good?" she asked between chuckles

"I wouldn't know" Hermione said, gathering all her Griffindor courage "You never let yourself finish properly"

The metamorph's eyes grew wide before she quickly bit out a comeback.

"My my, if I wouldn't know any better, I'd say you're asking for a rematch"

"Do you? Know better, I mean." Hermione looked at her, feigning innocence. Tonks did a double take.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?" She asked, laughing "Here I was thinking you were head over heels for Ron. But come to think of it, you've been giving me looks all through the end of summer."

Tonks fell silent, suddenly seeming in deep thought. "You really are something, you know that?"

"How do you mean?" Hermione smiled

"You make it really hard for me not to like you."

"And why would that be a bad thing? I remember you chanting age doesn't matter?"

"It's not that…" Tonks said "It's just… you didn't grow up in the wizarding world, Hermione. They're… not… forgiving. About this kind of stuff."

"Neither are most muggles, as far as I know."

"You don't get it. I would lose my job. How do the muggles say? Don't ask don't tell? I would either lose my job or let them mess with my head… fix me, they say. I had a colleague who went through with it. He never was the same, after that…"

She trailed off, looking at Hermione, who seemed in thought. The girl gave a soft hum before she started.

"It all makes sense now."

"What does?"

"My dream…"

"Come on, since when do you believe in dreams?"

"I'm coming around to it… you see, we were… I just came back here after a battle at Hogwarts. We won, I mean, Harry defeated Voldemort, but he was dead, and Ron, and Lupin, and Fleur, and a bunch of other people…"

"You have weird wet dreams" Tonks cut in, furrowing her brows

"Shush! So I thought you were dead too, and I came back here, maybe to check on your baby, or something, but I ended up coming to the bathroom, and then you came in, and –"

"Wait, I had a kid?"

"Yes, with Remus. And you told me, in your dream, that is, that you couldn't go at it now that Lupin is dead. And I was mourning Ron. And I came up with a messed up idea about you morphing into him, and you did it. Now that I think about it, that wasn't really believable. After a while the morph failed, but we still ended up making out. You told me you've been with other women, but that this could never be spoken of…"

Tonks sat, dumbstruck. "Still, your wet dreams are weird. And canon. Holy crap, so in your dream, I went through with the brainwash! I had a kid… I never wanted a kid…"

"Relax, it's not real." Hermione said reassuringly, putting her hand on top of Tonks' in the water.

"We should mop up your puddle" Tonks said, and started searching for her wand in her cloak, but Hermione beat her to it, pulling it from the auror's breast pocket.

"Hey that's mine!" Tonks reached for the wand, but Hermione held it just out of reach, keeping the pink haired witch at bay.

She flicked the wand, and in an instant, the water on the floor vanished. She waved in Tonks' direction and the witch's clothes dried. She gave a chuckle.

"I hope I didn't cast a dry spell on you." Tonks blushed, but laughed it off and gave a playful shove to Hermione's shoulder, and got her wand back. She quickly dried Hermione up, too.

"So, I guess, case solved and closed." Tonks hummed

"Is it, Auror Tonks?" Hermione inquired, leaning very close to the other witch, who couldn't help but let a smile spread on her face.

"I guess I can… cram in some further investigation on the subject, Chief Granger" She murmured, one of her hands coming up to play with Hermione's hair.

"Make sure to do that, and I'll be sure… to give you… a raise." Hermione managed to finish the sentence, staring longingly at Tonks' rapidly approaching lips before they captured hers in a tentative kiss. They stayed like that for a few moments before then broke apart, enjoying the closeness of the other.

Still dazed from the kiss, Hermione watched as Tonks stood, and let the other witch help her up.

"I'll be sure to file my report the next evening then, Chief." She said with a lopsided grin, and started out the door.

Hermione turned just in time to catch her, holding onto her wrist. "But keep in mind, Auror, this is a top secret mission. Prepare and behave accordingly." She said mischievously

"Roger." Tonk said and with a last playful glance she was already halfway down the stairs. Hermione couldn't help but find it entertaining how the word was very similar to the greeting the Auror always gave.

-o-o-o-

A/N: So this is the end for this one, folks. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as i did writing it! Hope to catch you in my following stories. Thanks for all the favs and follows, it's been great! Any interest in a sequel? Or bonus chapters? I'm rather keen on writing one or two.


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